Review of Barracuda

Underwhelming thriller is really not what the viewer thinks it's going to be. They'll think this is another of the various knock-offs that proliferated after "Jaws" became a sensation. Well, the title fish really don't have much to do in this ecologically conscious tale. Sure, they kill a FEW people, but never become that much of an issue. Instead, what this film does is get bogged down in a landlocked conspiracy plot. This plot involves a chemical company dumping its waste into the ocean, affecting the marine life, but there's more going on than that. It turns out, the PEOPLE are getting affected too. Young marine biologist Mike Canfield (Wayne Crawford, who also co-wrote the story and screenplay, co-produced, and supervised the underwater photography) teams up with local sheriff Ben Williams (William Kerwin, familiar to any fan of the Herschell Gordon Lewis classics "Blood Feast" and "Two Thousand Maniacs!") to probe the mystery, while nothing terribly interesting ever happens. Not even the barracuda attacks are that thrilling. For a B movie there's a better than average supporting cast, including Jason Evers ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die"), Cliff Emmich ("Payday"), Roberta Leighton ("Stripes"), and Bert Freed ("Paths of Glory"). The luscious Leighton is easy to watch, but what's going to stupefy the audience is seeing her throw herself at the not particularly attractive Crawford and seeing him show little interest! Evers is mostly okay - he is a veteran, after all - but when it comes time for him to emote, he can't pull it off. Director / co-writer / co-producer Harry Kerwin just can't seem to build up any real dramatic tension, despite the efforts of composer Klaus Schulze, who gives this thing a better music score than it deserves. Viewers may still be able to appreciate the last second twist ending, which concludes the story on a very downbeat note. Too bad the balance of the movie isn't that effective. Five out of 10.